


Pokemon: Rise of Evil

by RWBYSanctum



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-13
Updated: 2016-01-16
Packaged: 2018-05-13 18:14:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5712190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RWBYSanctum/pseuds/RWBYSanctum
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Team Rocket has taken over. Millions of lives have been lost, and regions fall. Ash Ketchum, one of the few people who can stop Team Rocket, has gone underground, as leader of the Kalosian rebel cell. When the time for combat comes, who will prevail? Amourshipping, Fourthwheelshipping.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Hey guys! I know I haven’t written a story for a loooong time, so here’s one to compensate for all that. Being my first Pokemon fanfic, and having not watched or played Pokemon since D/P/PL, I hope you can forgive me if I make mistakes.**  
**Anyway, this story is a action piece. It’s split into three arcs, title Beginnings, Counter and Assault. This is the Prologue to Beginnings. Hope you enjoy, and please leave a review! Constructive criticism is encouraged.**  
**Anyway, here’s the first part of Pokemon: Rise of Evil!**  
Chapter 1  
To say that I am going through emotional turmoil is an understatement. There isn’t an apt way for me to adequately describe how I feel at the moment. I don’t know whether to feel sad, angry, thankful, or anything. My brain cannot—will not—accept what has happened, and it can’t compute if what happened is good or bad.  
I stare out in the distance, hoping to catch a glimpse of flying Pokemon. Trying to differentiate between the flocks of Fletchinder and Fearow flying, trying to catch that all-red one, and trying to see him for the last time. But no, all I see are flocks of bird-like Pokemon flying into the sunset, moving to pastures anew.  
As the sun sets on another day, I can’t help but really think, with the limited functionality of my brain, about how the day had gone so wrong so fast. 

_6 hours earlier…_  
“Alright, Lumiose City!” Ash cheered as we saw the outer boundaries of the massive city. Bonnie, who had been asleep and was being carried by Ash, groggily woke up, and instantly became alert and excited as they neared her hometown.  
“Yay, we’re almost home!” She exclaimed happily. “Dedenne!” The Wire Mouse Pokemon residing in her pouch shared her enthusiasm.  
It had been 2 weeks since Ash competed in the Kalos Pokemon League Tournament. After some intense competition and some really close calls, Ash made his way to the finals, where he faced the defending champion, Diantha. It had been intense, with a highly charged atmosphere as both trainers threw all they had at each other. Ultimately, it had come down to Ash’s Pikachu against Diantha’s Gardevior. With both Pokemon going at each other blow for blow, and with the field quaking with the sheer power of the attacks, it looked very tight, and the simplest slip-up could prove costly.  
Thankfully, it was Diantha who made that mistake, creating an opening for Pikachu to launch a fully-charged Volt Tackle and landing a direct hit. With that, Ash claimed his first league title: Kalosian King.  
Things were almost as smooth for me. With two Princess Keys under my belt, I would have made it as long as I won one of the remaining two Showcases. However, it seemed that my recent wins got me much publicity and popularity, and I swept through the remaining Showcases to be crowned Kalosian Queen. With Ash being crowned Kalosian King, Bonnie had begun mercilessly teasing me, implying that Ash and I should get together like real royalty.  
If only telling Ash my feelings were so simple.  
With Bonnie’s teasing, and with both of us being crowned as Kalosian Royalty, it seemed like a no-brainer that Ash and I should have made a good couple. Bonnie and Clemont, who had finally seen and learnt about my feelings for Ash, constantly kept pressuring to tell Ash, to tell him how I feel. I’ve tried, but everytime something stops me. Everytime I try to tell him, I clam up, unable to tell him. Whether it is out of fear of rejection or simply the lack of bravery to tell him, I can’t tell.  
“Serena.” I am woken from the confines of my mind by Clemont. It is then I notice that we are alone, outside the gates of Lumiose.  
“Where’s Ash and Bonnie?”  
“They’re already inside the city.” He steps closer to me with a stern face. “Serena, you have to tell him.”  
I sigh. As I’ve said, I’ve been under constant pressure to confess to Ash. “Clemont, you know I’ve tried. I just can’t…”  
“NO!” Clemont suddenly yells, and his shift in character catches me off guard. Clemont realizes this, and softens his voice, “Serena, he has already cleared the Kalos League. There is nothing else for him to do but return home. Lumiose is the final port before he leaves for Kanto, and once he gets on that blimp home, you’re not going to see him again. This is your last opportunity to tell him.”  
“Why is this any of your business?” Annoyance and irritation eat at me as I fold my arms and challenge him. “My relationship with Ash is my business.” I don’t mean to snap, but I’ve had enough of this.  
Clemont sighs, “I just want you to be happy. As a friend, isn’t it part of my job to help make my friends happy? You say you’re happy just being crowned Kalosian Queen, yet I can see in your eyes that you’re not completely satisfied. You’re missing something, Serena.” He opens the gate and walks into the city, leaving me with his parting words and my thoughts.  
One thing I love about Lumiose: the markets. Sure, Vaniville had its own markets and fashion stores, but in Kalos, nothing beats the capital city. The four of us had agreed to go around the city for the afternoon, before meeting at Clemont’s house for a goodbye dinner for Ash. Bonnie and I chose to go shopping, Bonnie hoping to get a good goodbye gift for Ash, I hoping to find some cute clothes, and to be with myself for a few hours.  
Come on, Serena! Pull yourself together! It’s Ash!  
I just can’t. I don’t want to ruin our friendship…  
You know him better. Even if he doesn’t reciprocate, he will still be your friend.  
It’s awkward…  
“Excuse me?”  
I awake from my thoughts for the second time today by an elderly storekeeper. “Yes?” I ask.  
“Sorry, miss. It’s just that you happen to have been staring at my wares for a while now, and they’re not that attractive if you know what I mean.” The storekeeper says, smiling at me.  
I blush in embarrassment. “I’m really sorry for disturbing you. I just…have too many thoughts on my mind. I wasn’t really paying attention.” I wasn’t really in the mood to talk, but the old man seemed so genial that I couldn’t help it.  
He chuckled softly. “Can I presume that you happen to be in a complicated situation? Perhaps with someone whom you are close to?”  
I stumble briefly. “How…how did you guess?” I stutter out, my face turning red. Was I really so obvious?  
“I’ve seen young people like you go through such scenarios. In fact, I myself went through this when I was younger.” He explained kindly, before leaning in, “May I enquire as to your situation?”  
Others might have seen this as an invasion of privacy, and probably would have left, but the old man had me engrossed. He genuinely seemed like he wanted to help. I gave him a summary of my problem, leaving out details like names.  
“He’s leaving for another region tomorrow, and I’m afraid I won’t see him again for a long time, if not ever. I don’t want to lose him, but I’m so afraid that I would jeopardize our relationship with him.” I conclude.  
“You would rather let him stay ignorant of your feelings if it means the two of you can never be more than friends?” There was no judgment in his voice, only gentle sadness.  
I consider this for a while, before answering with a nod. The old man contemplates for a minute, before asking, “Say you do tell him, and he does not reciprocate your feelings. Would you resent him?”  
There is no hesitation in my answer. “No. I won’t. “He’s travelled a lot, and I heard about some of his other ‘companions’. He has no shortage of suitors, so perhaps he has feelings for a certain one. As long as he’s happy being with her, I’m happy for him. I can understand if I’m not the right girl for him. I may not like it, but I won’t hate him, because if he isn’t happy being with me, then I’ll do whatever it takes to make him happy”  
“Which is why you ought to tell him your feelings immediately.” The old man says with a smile. I am caught off guard by his quick response, and I blurt out, “What?”  
“Young lady, just this short conversation tells me one thing: you have a good person. You have a sweet personality, you have striking good looks, and you are willing to step aside if necessary; in other words, you are the perfect girl for anyone. Any boy who can reject a sweet girl like you clearly does not deserve you. My suggestion is to admit your feelings to this boy. You have nothing to lose, for if he rejects you, then perhaps he isn’t the perfect person for you. And if he reciprocates…”  
I consider the old man’s words, and realize that they made a lot of sense. I really didn’t have anything to lose. And regardless, if Ash doesn’t reciprocate, he’s nice enough that he’ll still keep me as a close friend. And frankly, I would rather that than be estranged from him.  
“You’re right, sir. Thank you.” I bow in gratitude to him, and my eyes come across one of his wares. “How much would this be? I think it would make a good gift for him.”  
“For you, no charge.” He says with a nonchalant wave of his hand. “Just promise me that you will tell him. You have a very good heart, Serena Yvonne.”  
I blush again at the compliment. “Thank you.” Then his words strike me. “Wait, how do you know my name?”  
The man chuckles, “I do believe that even in my old age, I can recognize the Kalosian Queen. And another reason for my advice: that Ash Ketchum fellow seems like a decent guy. I’m confident he won’t reject you.”  
Speechless, I slap a 20 pokedollar note on his stall and race away from his stall, my face now a dark shade of red.

  
_Clemont’s house_  
“Thanks, Clemont! You sure know how to make a good meal!” Ash compliments.  
“Well, it’s your last chance to taste Kalosian food and my cooking, so naturally I spared no expense and threw all my cooking expertise into preparing this!” Clemont says proudly.  
“And again, you’ve outdone yourself.” Ash says, before tucking into a slice of cake.  
Clemont had spent the first part of the afternoon at the gym, ensuring that things were working and checking in as to how Lumiose was progressing economically and socially. Then he had come back to prepare, in his own words, “the greatest banquet in the history of Kalos and in the history of organized banquets.”  
And he didn’t disappoint. It had started with an appetizer of a local Kalosian delicacy, Kreme Brulle, a type of pie made with a mixture of blended berries, sugar and milk. Then the main courses arrived, and the table had been filled with delicious dishes. Dessert was unlimited servings of Kalosian ice cream, apparently taken from the frosted breath of Vanilluxes, which for their seemingly weird appearance, could make really great ice cream. Clemont had to restrain Bonnie because she took one bite of the ice cream and went berserk, trying to spoon as much ice cream as possible. The scene was so adorable.  
Once Bonnie had calmed down sufficiently and everyone had eaten their fill, Clemont stood up and gave a speech, thanking Ash for bringing the three of us on such an amazing journey. Bonnie thanked Ash by hugging him and Dedenne celebrated by shocking Ash. Then it was my turn. I stood up, nerves racing.  
“Ash, I can’t begin to describe how this entire journey has been, and how much it has influenced me. You were a major influence on me when I was young, and this long journey has really changed me more. Without your support, I wouldn’t have been able to be crowned Kalosian Queen, let alone win one Showcase. When I was done, you were always there to comfort me, to encourage me to never give up, and to be the very best like no one ever was. I would say thank you, but I feel that those words are insufficient to describe this journey. How can two small words adequately bring out the significance of this journey? But since I can’t find a synonym for thank you that can really bring out the extent to which I’m grateful for having joined you on this journey, I guess I’ll just have to say thank you for everything.”  
The silence that permeated the room thereafter was eerie. Upon completion of my speech, no one moved for a minute.  
Suddenly, there was a knock at the front door.  
“I’ve got it! Bonnie, wanna come along?” Clemont quickly announced, before giving me a wink. I could have hugged him right there and then.  
“OK!” Bonnie got up and followed Clemont out of the dining room, leaving me alone with Ash.  
“Serena, I…I don’t know what to say.” Ash broke the silence between us first. “You know, you’re a really great girl, Serena. I thoroughly enjoyed journeying through Kalos with you.”  
This is it, Serena. This is your chance.  
I took a deep breath. “Thanks, Ash. Actually, there is something I want to tell you.”  
“Yes, Serena?”  
Till today, I wonder. I wonder what would have happened if things hadn’t transpired the way they did. Would it have changed anything?  
Would I have been in this predicament?  
“Ash…” I hear Clemont call. I look up to glare at him, only to see his serious face on. Something’s wrong.  
“Ash…you have to see this.” Clemont calls again. Ash hears the seriousness in his tone and gets up. “What’s wrong?”  
Clemont doesn’t say a word, only turns on the television. He flicks through channels until he finds the news channels.  
What I see makes me gasp in horror.  
I see a city much like that of Lumiose, only bigger and filled to the brim with skyscrapers. Or at least, what’s left of it. Smoke rises from destroyed buildings. Craters litter the pavement and walkways. I even catch a glimpse of bodies lying all around.  
At first, I don’t know which city was this, my first thought being what kind of twisted soul would something like this. Then my eyes fall on the tallest building in the city, a skyscraper that stands even taller than Prism Tower. An old memory rises to the surface; I had seen a similar building before, when I was younger.  
Ash answers for me. “That…that’s Saffron City. What happened to it?” His face is a mixture of shock and anger. On his shoulder, Pikachu glares at the TV screen, cheeks sparkling with anger manifesting in energy.  
The newscaster speaks, “Reports are still streaming in as to this surprise attack on Saffron City in the Kanto region, in one of the worst terrorist attacks to ever hit the region. The death toll is reported to have reached nearly a thousand, and more than that number have suffered injuries. Yet this is not the only city to be attacked, as reports from Celadon, Viridian and Vermillion City have also been reported…”  
Suddenly, the screen turns fuzzy, and after a few minutes of static, the image is replaced by that of a man standing in a dark room. He has a clean shaven look and wears a orange suit, with a Persian prowling around him. He begins to speak.  
“People of the Pokemon World! I am Giovanni, leader of an international organization called Team Rocket. We have taken over command of the Kanto region, and as you have seen from the footage at Saffron City, we are not afraid of using force to get power. Our ultimatum is this: the leaders of the remaining 5 regions are to surrender to the command of Team Rocket. Your leaders must abdicate and all Pokemon must be handed over to Team Rocket. Do so within 48 hours, or suffer the consequences.”  
The screen fizzles, then reverts back to the news channel, who begins to report about the mysterious hacking. I’m barely listening any more, my mind unable to take the shock. Team Rocket? How could an organization that hires people like Jessie and James ever seize control of a region?  
My mind suddenly recognizes the sound of someone running down stairs, and I turn to see Ash running out with his bag. Without thinking, I race out.  
“Charizard, come on out!” He throws a Pokeball, and out pops a dragon-like Pokemon with fire spewing from its tail. He prepares to get on, but I quickly grab his hand.  
“Ash, you’re not seriously thinking on taking on Team Rocket, are you?” I ask worriedly. “These don’t seem like the kind of people to mess with.”  
“I have to go, Serena! They attacked my home. They killed innocents, enslaved innocent Pokemon. Do you expect me to just stay here and not do anything about it?” He turns to me and exclaims.  
“I’m trying to make sure you don’t do something stupid that will get you killed!” I exclaim back. I’m not going to lose him, not right now. Not when everything was going so well. “Ash, these people took over Kanto, one of the toughest regions to beat. I’m not doubting your abilities, but do you really think you can take them on yourself?”  
“What’s the alternative? I stay here in Kalos and wait for Team Rocket to attack? I’m not letting them touch another region, Serena…especially Kalos. Besides, does it really matter now? I’m not letting them get away with this.” He growls.  
“I’m not going to let you do this, Ash. I get it, you want to get back at Team Rocket. But you’re just one person taking on an entire organization! This isn’t a rescue operation, this is a suicide mission!” I can’t stop myself from yelling. I have to convince him to stop, even though I know he won’t. I can’t lose him, not here, not now. “Ash, please don’t…”  
It takes my brain half a minute to realize that my mouth was being covered by something, and another ten to realize that it’s Ash’s lips on mine. As my brain registers the shock of being kissed, and by ASH no less, he pulls away. His aggressive look softens.  
“My Kalosian Queen, I will return. It may be a month, a year or a decade, but I will come back to Kalos. I will come back to you. I’m doing this because I know that if I don’t stop this, Team Rocket won’t stop. They’ll keep coming, and eventually they’ll reach Kalos. I can’t stand them attacking this beautiful region.” He pauses, then continues, “Or you.”  
And leaving my shell-shocked self staring in disbelief, he leaps onto Charizard, and the mighty dragon flies off into the sunset.  
That night, I cry myself to sleep. I cry for the uncertainties of the future. I weep for how the day changed so rapidly.  
But most of all, I cry for the love I lost.  
**HOLY SHIT! 3,146 words! I have never written so much for one chapter ever. Well, I thoroughly enjoyed writing this regardless. Hope you guys enjoyed, and please R and R!**

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So a little bit of background information here. Basically, I'm a new face here, but I was active on fanfiction.net for a while. This is my most recent story and I hope you guys can help ease my transition into AO3! Thank you all, and enjoy the story! If you like this, be sure to check out my FF account for the rest of my stories! (Pen name RWBYSanctum).

Chapter 1

“Reports are still streaming in about the attack and what it means for other regions…”  
BZZT!  
“Today marks a truly dark day in the history of our world…”  
BZZT!  
“Unova has fallen as well, leaving many asking, can anyone stop this menace?”  
BZZT!  
“Nothing! Absolutely nothing we can do!” I glance up at the TV screen for the first time to see an old man being interviewed and yelling into the microphone.  
“Listen to me, all you viewers at home! This is your punishment for treating Pokemon like slaves! This is what you all deserve: to be subjugated to another! You all brought this on yourselves!” The man screams as he is dragged away by two burly policemen, continuing to rant even as he is being dragged away kicking and screaming.  
The TV fizzles out. “You shouldn’t be watching this, Serena. It’s too depressing.” Clemont sits down next to me, the remote in his hand.  
“It can’t depress me any further than I already am.” I reply emotionlessly as I stare at the floor.   
Clemont cautiously lays a reassuring hand on my shoulder. I feel the urge to shrug him off, to tell him to leave me alone, but I don’t do either, mainly because, as much as I didn’t feel like talking, I just wanted the comfort of someone to talk to.  
“Serena, he’ll be back. (A/N: Try doing that in an Arnold voice. I dare you ) You know he will.” Clemont tries to reassure me.   
The thing is, I know this. I know that Ash will be back. The rational part of my brain knows this, and it keeps telling me this, telling me to stop acting like Bella Swan and pull myself together, telling me to just be patient and wait for him.  
But love is irrational. It can be the thing that drives somebody insane with grief. In my case, part of it was due to overthinking the situation, while part of my depression came from my worrying that Ash wasn’t going to make it back, that he would fail in his mission, that he could potentially…die.  
And of course, there was the whole kiss thing. I realized that I was probably overthinking the situation, but I honestly didn’t know what he meant by it. Did he kiss me because he loved me, or simply to shut me up so that he could fly off to Kanto? Why did he kiss me only then, if he really did love me?  
All-in-all, the emotional state of my mind was not functioning at full capabilities. As much as I want to believe—scratch that, I’m confident—that Ash Ketchum would return as he promised, my many emotions and the turmoil I’m going through definitely messes up my brain.   
“Serena? Serena?”  
I suddenly realize that I had been too caught up in my own thoughts to notice Clemont had been talking to me. Bonnie had joined us too, dressed in her usual outfit, unlike Clemont, who was still in pyjamas.   
“Sorry, I spaced out for a minute. What were you saying?” I asked.  
Bonnie sighed. “I thought we already talked about this, Serena. You can’t keep thinking about Ash! You’re overthinking the situation!”   
“Bonnie, she’s under a lot of stress, ok? If your crush just left you, or didn’t reciprocate, what would you do?” Clemont challenges her.   
“I’m not saying she shouldn’t mope around. I’m just saying that doing the whole Bella Swan thing for 2 weeks is a bit overdone! It’s ridiculous!”  
“Leave it, Clemont. Bonnie’s right.” I put a hand on Clemont’s shoulder to calm him down before he erupted into a rage. “I…I just need to take a walk, take my mind off certain things.”   
“I’ll go with you! What you need is a girl’s day out!” Bonnie immediately sits up, full of cheer and excitement.  
“No, Bonnie. Serena needs time to herself.” Clemont chides her.  
“And you need to stop treating me like I’m still 8!” I’m 15 now!” Bonnie yells back.  
“Guys, please stop.” I beg, before turning to Clemont. “Actually, I think Bonnie should follow. It’ll be good to have some company with me.”  
Clemont looks to argue, before glancing at Bonnie, who somehow manages to look both like a volcano about to erupt and a firecracker that would bounce off the walls at any second.   
*sigh* “Alright.”   
“YAY! Come on, Serena, let’s go!” Bonnie says, before running up the stairs to grab her bag.   
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
“Come on, Serena!” Bonnie, who is a good hundred metres ahead of me, exclaims. We’re racing each other to the Lumiose markets, which only opened a few minutes ago, but already have quite a crowd, according to Bonnie. How she knew all this is a mystery to me.  
“I’m coming!” I yell back excitedly. This is actually the most amount of fun I’ve had in over 2 weeks. I feel like I’m free from my problems, or at least I don’t feel so burdened by them. It feels good to breathe fresh Lumiose air again, and to feel the wind blowing my hair back…  
WHAM!  
In my excitement, I didn’t see the girl in front of me, and I literally plowed into her. Both of us fell to the ground hard, me landing on top of her.   
“Get off of me!” The girl pushes me off, before standing up and dusting herself off. “Are all you citizens this clumsy or short-sighted that you can’t see where you’re going?” She asks haughtily as she looks down on me. She’s wearing a white dress and has white hair tied into two long ponytails at the sides.   
I’m so mortified at having knocked into someone and at the same time miffed that this teen-sounding girl is so arrogant that I can’t come up with an explanation or any coherent speech at first.   
“Are you hearing-impaired? I’m talking to you.”  
At this point, my first thought is I hate this girl.  
Luckily, I’m saved by another girl. This girl looks to be the exact opposite of the white girl, dressed in black with a red cape tied around her, wearing a red skirt with black leggings, and with black hair cut short. She puts a hand on White’s shoulder and says, “Let it go, Weiss,” before extending a hand to pull me up.  
“Sorry about Weiss’ attitude, she didn’t exactly want to come here. I’m Ruby, by the way. Ruby Rose.” She extends her hand out and I shake it. I don’t know this girl, but I like her already.   
“Serena, Serena Yvonne.” I reply. “Thanks for the help,” I tell Ruby, before turning to Weiss, “and my sincerest apologies for colliding with you.” I say in my most falsetto sweet voice.   
“Well, we got to go before my sister wonders where we went. It was nice meeting you, Serena.” Ruby says. “Let’s go already.” Weiss says, before they walk off.   
What a weird duo. I think to myself before moving to find Bonnie.   
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
“Where have you been? I’ve been here like 5 minutes!” Bonnie exclaims upon seeing me. Her anger act would have fooled me if her face hadn’t seemed more pouty than angry.   
“Sorry, got a little sidetracked.” I explain sheepishly.   
“Well, come on! We don’t have all day!” Bonnie says, before taking off again, this time pulling me along with her.   
I can honestly say that those 4 hours we spent in the markets were well spent and were among some of the better times I’ve had recently. When we finally returned to Clemont’s house, I was in the happiest moods I’ve been in for a while.   
Of course, that all had to end as well.  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
“They’re here! They’re here!”   
I’m roused awake by this sudden cry. I look out my window and get the shock of my life.   
Prism Tower is on fire.  
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!  
There’s frantic knocking on my door, and in a daze, I move to open it. It’s Clemont and Bonnie, both dressed in their travelling clothes and with a worried look on their faces.   
“What…What’s going on?” My brain hasn’t fully awakened yet, and even though I saw what was going on, I couldn’t exactly comprehend the full situation.  
“Team Rocket’s here. We’ve got to move.” Clemont says, and the words are enough to shock me out of my stupor. “Get changed quick, and meet us in the living room.” I quickly change into my travelling clothes, grab my bag and my Pokeballs, and hurry out of my room to the meeting point.   
“Where are they focusing on?” I ask.   
Clemont opens his backpack and pulls out a tiny handheld device. Immediately, it turns on and shows a 3D representation of Lumiose.   
“Currently, they seem to be attacking and focusing their attacks on Prism Tower. They’ve closed off all the main exits out of the city, and they’ve got most of the plazas down.” Clemont explains.  
“So how are we getting out of here?” I ask.   
“Not to worry, for I have made a plan for this very scenario!” Clemont proudly announces, before pulling aside the carpenting of the living room floor.   
“It’s…it’s just a wooden floor.” I blurt out. There didn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary under the carpet. “I mean, we could dig our way out of here, but there isn’t any point in that…”  
“No, Serena. That isn’t what we’re doing.” Clemont announces, which confuses me a lot more. Then he reaches down and feels around the floor, muttering “No, not yet, a bit more…” to himself. Finally, he finds what he’s looking for. Digging his fingers into the wood, he pulls upwards, and the floor opens up to reveal a passageway.”  
“THIS is what we’re doing.” He announces.   
“Wait, where does this lead to?” I ask.  
“Inside Prism Tower.”  
“And why are we going there? I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the building is on fire, brother.” Bonnie deadpans.  
“Because there are a lot of people in there, and we can help to bring them out of there, preferably alive. Prism Tower may have state-of-the-art defences, but those Rocket goons are going to break in anytime soon. Part of Lumiose’s evacuation plan is to always move the citizen into Prism Tower first, before moving them out of the city through the tunnels.” Clemont explains, “Underneath Lumiose is an entire network of tunnels, all of which were built in the event of an emergency to bring people to safety outside of Lumiose.”  
“Well, then, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Bonnie is the first through the trapdoor.  
I look at Clemont. “Say what you want about her, she’s still as hyperactive as her 8 year old self.”  
Clemont rolls his eyes, “Tell me about it,” before he climbs down the ladder.   
We race through the tunnels, Clemont leading the way with his map of the tunnel network. Eventually we come to a stop before an elevator.  
“This elevator leads us right into the gym floor.” Clemonts calls for the lift, and seconds later, we’re cruising up to the gym floor.   
When we reach the floor, I see what Clemont meant. There must have been a thousand people within the gym floor.   
“Everyone calm down!” Clemont announces, using a megaphone he had pulled out of his backpack. “Everyone please be calm! Get into groups of 40! You will all be brought into the tunnel system underneath the city. Follow the directional arrows along the wall, and do not turn back! Any questions?” There is silence. “Good, now hurry! Prism Tower workers, to your stations!”  
I have to say, I expected chaos. I mean, with invaders attacking and trying to get in, it would have made sense, but no. The Lumiose citizens all get into large groups rather quickly and in an organized manner. Lifts appear from beneath the stadium, and the groups are brought to safety effectively.   
We almost made it all.   
Because as the last groups were unloading, there was a loud “BANG!” and suddenly where a giant door once stood were a large group of goons all dressed in black with a large R emblazoned in the centre.   
“Well, well. Looks like we’ve got ourselves some piggies trying to escape!” One goon laughs excitedly. “Get them!” he yells, and the group of goons immediately attack.  
“Delphox, Light Screen!” I throw my Pokeball, releasing one of my greatest friends in the world. Immediately, a wall of psychic energy surrounds us, protecting the group.   
“Scizor, use Brick Break!” One of the goons yells while throwing his Pokeball. In an instant, a Scizor appears, and immediately starts hitting the Light Screen. With every hit, a crack appears, spreading ever wider as Scizor relentlessly attacks.   
Shit! I can’t attack with Delphox while Light Screen is still up!  
“Blaziken, use Blaze Kick!”   
Suddenly, a shadow passes my head, and Scizor’s attack stops as it quickly moves away from the attacker. I look around in wonder. None of us have a Blaziken, so who’s trainer was it?  
“Serena!” I turn and to my surprise, see Ruby and Weiss, along with two others helping to attack the goons.  
“You help settle the citizens, we’ll handle the goons!” She smiles at me. I nod, “Delphox, come on!”  
Ruby cracks her knuckles, “Alright, team, let’s do this!”  
I rush to the elevator, calling out for more of the citizens to rush into the lifts.   
“Serena, take them out of the city! Bonnie, go with them!” I hear Clemont yell.  
“Bonnie, come on!” I yell, and we both enter the next elevator, travelling to the basement of the tower.   
“Well, well, how nice. The little piggies have decided to gift wrap themselves to me!”   
Oh come on! Of all the people to meet us at the basement, it has to be this guy?  
“Come out of there quietly, and there’ll be no trouble. If you don’t, well…” He popped a Pokeball, and out came an evil-looking Arbok. “Well, my Arbok is always hungry.” He smirked evilly.  
“You’re despicable.” I spit at him.   
“No, I’m Gideon. But I know what you mean.” He then laughs at his own poor joke, before turning to me.   
“Arbok, Wrap!”   
Before I can even react, his Arbok shoots forward and wraps its long tail around my waist. I don’t even have time to scream before I am yanked out of the elevator.   
“Leave her alone!” Bonnie yells, before throwing her Pokeball. “Herdier, Headbutt!”   
Her Dog Pokemon runs full force at Arbok, but Gideon calmly commands, “Poison Sting.”  
Normally, Poison Sting shards aren’t very powerful, but when one shard hit Herdier, the Dog Pokemon instantly reeled back in pain.   
“Don’t bother, lady. That was a warning shot. My Arbok won’t be so nice next time.” He warns Bonnie, before turning to me.  
“Not a bad look. What say you and I have a little private time, missy?” He winks at me, and I feel like I’m going to hurl. I begin to struggle, to do anything to get out of this mess, but I can’t. His Arbok has an extremely tight grip on me.  
“Don’t bother struggling. My Arbok has held on to girls much bigger than you. Just surrender to me.” He smirks to himself. “Don’t worry, I’m told I’m quite…”   
He doesn’t get any further before someone yells, “Charizard, Blast Burn!”   
Gideon hears the command too late, and soon he is engulfed in flames. His Arbok looks around in confusion as he watches his trainer squirm on the ground in agony.   
“Greninja, Water Pulse on that trainer! Alakazam, use Psychic on Arbok!”  
The pressure around my waist loosens, and I slip to the ground. I watch as Arbok is lifted off the ground, surrounded by blue tendrils of energy, and watching as a Greninja sprays a torrent of water on the flaming Gideon.   
“Alakazam.” The mysterious trainer just says the name, and suddenly, Arbok is slammed into the ground so hard that it cracks the steel floor underneath it. It doesn’t move.   
Gideon slowly gets up, his Rocket uniform singed. “Who dares…”  
He is cut off as he is suddenly lifted up into the air by the same blue tendrils of energy. From the shadows, an Alakazam approaches, its spoons held in an X position.   
And then, its trainer appears, and my brain malfunctioned.   
Even though his outfit has changed, his hair is much messier than normal and his cap is of a different colour, I recognize him.  
“You will not mess with anyone else, especially this girl. You’ve been warned.” The trainer threatens, before Alakazam sends him falling out of the air. Gideon lands with a heavy thud, and does not stir.   
The trainer then turns to me.   
“A..Ash?” I stammer out, still unbelieving of what I’m seeing.  
He kneels down and looks me in the eye, before smiling, “Yep, it’s me.”  
At this point, my brain is in turmoil. What do I do now?   
Then the irrational part of me kicks in, and I leap up to hug him, tears streaming from my eyes.  
“You came back. You really came back.” I joyfully say, my voice choked with emotions.  
“I did promise, didn’t I?” He says back with a smile on his face.  
Then the rational side of me kicks in, and I slap him, yelling “Why did you have to leave?!”


	3. Arc 1 Chapter 2: Exodus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Hope you guys enjoy!

Chapter 3  
I would be lying if I said I anticipated the slap.   
On one hand, I was extremely happy to see Serena again, and I knew she was, too. On the other hand, I also knew she would probably still be furious at my leaving so abruptly two weeks ago.  
As it turns out, I was right on both accounts, just not in the way I expected. Case in point, that slap.  
I winced in pain, my cheek still stinging from the impact. “I guess I did deserve that.”   
“Yes, you did,” Serena replied, before hugging me again, “and you deserve this too.”  
Two hugs from the woman I love. That’s not too bad. I would take a slap for that.  
“Ash! You’re back!” I look up to see Bonnie racing towards me, a smile on her face.   
Serena moves aside to let her hug me. “Thank goodness you’re back! It was sooooo boring without you around! Clemont was too busy working, Serena was too busy moping about…”  
At this point, Serena quickly blushes and moves to cover Bonnie’s mouth. “The point is, we really missed you, Ash.” She nervously stutters out, ignoring Bonnie’s struggles to get her to move her hand away.   
We’re brought back to reality by a sudden tremor. It’s a short one, but it’s enough to shock the three of us out of our reunion stupor. A few seconds later, another tremor comes.   
“Wha…What’s that?” Bonnie asks nervously.   
“That” I answer, “would be Tauros.” I sigh inwardly, prepping myself to delivering another lecture later.   
“Tauros? What’s a Tauros doing in here?” Serena asked.   
“It’s not here on this floor,” I reply, “It’s upstairs.” I stand up, “I’ll deal with it. Serena, Bonnie, get these people out of here. Meet me at the entrance.”   
“I’m not leaving you again.” Serena grabs my arm defiantly, glaring at me with eyes that dare me to reject her, to run from her again.   
“Relax, Serena. This isn’t dangerous at all. In fact, they seem to be done upstairs. I just need to be here to wait for them.” I reassure her.  
“First of all, I don’t care if it’s dangerous or not. You’re not leaving me again. Second, who’s they?”   
I sigh inwardly. Serena may be a really sweet girl most of the time, but sometimes she could be as stubborn as a Snorlax. Still, it’s one of the things I love about her. She refuses to give up no matter what.  
“Fine. Bonnie, you know the way, right? Can you lead them out of here?” I call over to Bonnie.   
“No problem!” She replies, before calling everyone out of the elevators like a train platform announcer.  
Once the people are out of sight, I press one finger to my earpiece. “Team, what’s your status?”   
“Who are you talking to?” Serena asks quizzically. I don’t blame her. Because my earpiece is black, and it matches my hair, it’s hard for her to see it, so it probably looks like I’m talking to thin air. I push a portion of hair aside and show her my ear so that she can see it.  
“All clear! Man, it was so fun! We totally kicked their…” A shrill and overexcited voice sounds in my ear, making me go temporarily deaf as my eardrum threatens to explode.  
“Calm down, Red Leader. 2 things I need you to do. 1) Tell Yellow to control her Tauros. We don’t want the whole building crashing down on top of us. 2) Get in an elevator and get down here. Time to go back to base.” I order, once my ears stop ringing.  
“You got it, boss! Red out!” The link is terminated. A minute later, the elevator creaks to life and moves upwards, leaving Serena and I alone in the room.   
The silence just makes it more awkward.   
“So…”  
“Ummm…”  
I decide to start a conversation before things get even more awkward, but before I can get a word out, I find myself unable to speak, mainly because my mouth was covered by another.   
Serena deepens the kiss, and I oblige. It’s nothing too lustful, not too much passion, but just a kiss charged with emotions, and for a moment, it’s just us, the world dissolving into nothingness, until it’s just Serena and her cherry lips upon mine…  
“AWWW THAT’S SO SWEET!”   
In our excitement, none of us realize that the lift had returned, and this time carrying passengers. Upon hearing that scream, we break apart, instinctively turning to face the voice.   
“RUBY?” Serena’s the first to respond, her eyes widening in shock and surprise.   
“Ugh, someone pleassee tear out my eyes.”   
“Come on, Weiss. You’ve kissed a guy before, it’s not that bad.” One of the lift’s other occupants, a blonde girl with really long curly hair, replies.  
“Not when you’re watching someone else do it.”   
Meanwhile, the lift’s two other occupants have different reactions. One, a black-haired girl with a bow on top of her hair, looks disinterested at the on-going conversation, while the other, Clemont, looks ready to bolt out of the lift.  
I’m pretty sure I’m blushing madly, but I gather myself and turn to Serena. “Serena, meet Team RWBY.”  
“I know you. You’re that clumsy girl who banged into me in the markets!” Weiss points at Serena and glares at her.   
“Weiss, come on. She looks nice enough. I’m Yang, by the way.” The blonde introduces herself, before introducing the black-haired girl as Blake.   
“You must be Serena. Ash told us so much about you. I must say, you do look as beautiful as he describes you to be.” Yang continues.   
“Really? I wasn’t aware that Ash was talking about me.” She says while giving me a glare that, if looks could kill, would have struck me down in an instant. “Care to tell me what’s going on?”  
“It’s…complicated. I promise I’ll explain to you later, but right now, we’re on a tight schedule. We’ve got word that Team Rocket are sending reinforcements, so we need to return to base. Now.” I address everyone.   
“I think…” Serena is cut off by a loud explosion. “…that it can wait. But you’ve got a lot of explaining to do, Ash.”   
Boy, do I know it.   
“Let’s blow this joint!” Yang exclaims.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Lumiose is burning.  
We emerge from a back exit of the Prism Tower into what could only be described as hell. The once picturesque city is now engulfed in flames. Buildings that once stood tall and firm now lie as rubble and debris. The pavements are littered with craters and potholes.   
“My…my city…” Clemont falls to his knees in despair, tears streaming down his eyes. “Wha…What kind of twisted mind would do this?”   
I place a reassuring hand on his shoulder, “There wasn’t anything you could do. You evacuated everyone at the very least. Team Rocket don’t care about how beautiful a city is. They only care about destruction.”  
“They…They will pay for this.” Clemont stands up, and his eyes glint with determination, the same kind of determination I see when he battles, that desire to win.   
“They will, but right now we have to get out of here.”   
“And go where?” Serena asks. “Ash, we can’t stay in Lumiose.”  
“We’re not staying here.” I reply, before reaching for my earpiece. “Bonnie, where are you?”  
“South Gate! They ambushed us, so we had to detour! We need backup!” Bonnie’s panic rings through my ears.   
“We’re coming! Can you hold out a while longer?”   
“I think so! Hurry!”  
I terminate the link, then turn to Team RWBY, “You guys got that?”   
“South Gate.” They reply in unison.  
“Good, let’s go.”   
Where the South Gate once stood now lies a pile of rubble.   
Grunts line the perimeter of the gate, on guard for any signs of life. They had been warned of rebel sightings in the area, and were on the lookout for any stragglers. Apparently, a group of grunts had found some survivors escaping from the Prism Tower, forcing the survivors to race off to the South Gate. Well, with the gate down, there wasn’t going to be any other way. Those survivors would probably stay down in the tunnels, forced to hunker down until another team of grunts found them.  
Still, the result was unsatisfactory to Rocket Admin Mia.   
“Tower 3, come in, damnit!” She yelled into her intercom. There was nothing but static. “Arceus damn them.” She muttered, before opening another channel, “I want two teams in the Prism Tower, and I want another team in the tunnels looking for the survivors. The streets are empty, so the people have to be somewhere.”   
“Yes, m’am! Team 2 and 3 going into the Tower, Team 1 heading into the tunnels!” Another grunt sounded through, before the link was terminated.   
Mia sighed in frustration and exhaustion. This raid had been going on for too long, and it was all going wrong. The mission had been simple: take control of Prism Tower, trap everyone else inside the city, and then broadcast the takeover to the rest of Kalos. However, the Tower had been guarded by some serious security systems that repelled a lot of Rocket attacks. It had taken 4 squads of grunts to finally break in, only to find that the people had been evacuated.   
To make matters worse, Gideon still wasn’t responding. He was supposed to intercept the runaways and capture them, but it had been an hour and he still hadn’t responded yet.  
Mia wiped sweat from her brow. She was under a lot of pressure. Recently appointed to the rank of Admin, the Lumiose mission was the biggest raid she had to plan. Success was a must, not just for Team Rocket, but for her. And now, everything seemed to be falling apart.   
_Calm down. Think of the positives. The rebels are trapped underneath the tunnels, surrounded by grunts. They can’t come through the South Gate, and they can’t return to Prism Tower. They have to stay where they are, and we’ll eventually catch them._  
Taking solace in that, Mia sat back and waited for the message that the mission was a success.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
“They’ve blocked off the South Gate. That means everyone is trapped underneath in the tunnels.” Ruby reported.   
“Shit. They’ve likely got reinforcements waiting in the Tower in case they show up there. Can they go back to any other gate?” I ask.   
“Kirlia, can you show us the other gates?” Ruby asks her Pokemon.   
“Kirl!” The Emotion Pokemon concentrates, and a ball of psychic energy materializes. A bunch of images begin to appear.  
“Doesn’t look good. Every single gate is blocked off.” Ruby reports solemnly.  
“There has to be a way! Bonnie’s trapped in there!” Clemont yells angrily.  
“Calm down, Clemont. We’ll find a way.” I reassure him, before it hits me.  
“A way…A way.” I mutter to myself.   
“You got a plan?” Serena asks.  
“It’s crazy, but possible.” I reply.  
“Clemont, what Pokemon does Bonnie have?” I ask him.  
“Umm, wait a minute…Bunnelby, Tynamo, Dedenne and Sandile, I think. Why?”  
I smile, “Because I know how’s she getting out of there.”  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
“So anyways, the guy is left with, like, 11 health, and I have 1 left…”   
Sometimes, being a grunt isn’t easy, and for grunts Michael and Mason, this was definitely the case. They could have been scouting for survivors under Prism Tower or even be back at base relaxing, but nope. They had drawn the short straw and ended up guarding a pile of rubble, just in case something popped out.   
At first, it had seemed fun. The two envisioned themselves finding rebels and being glorified by Admin Mia for doing so. But after 5 minutes, they realized that their job sucked. The rubble was rather thick, and there was no way a human could have crawled through, so they effectively had to stand there and watch out for rebels they knew were never coming. Naturally, with such a boring job, their minds began to wander, and it turned into a conversation about pretty much anything they could do.   
“And then I end up topdecking…” Michael stops.  
“What, man? What did you get?” Mason asked.  
“Shush for a moment. Did you hear that?”  
“What?”   
“Sounds like…digging.”   
Suddenly, from in between two pieces of rubble, a Dedenne appeared.   
“Dedenne?” It stares up at the two grunts with a cute smile.   
“Dude, that’s a Dedenne! Let’s catch it!” Michael calls out to his fellow grunt, and they approach the tiny mouse together.   
“Man, a Dedenne! My little girl’s gonna love it! My legs are shaking in anticipation!” Mason exclaimed.  
“Mine too! Wait…what?” Michael replied instinctively, before pausing. “Why are my legs shaking too?”  
It was at this moment that the ground beneath them gave way. Without any time to yell, they found themselves tumbling into the ground.   
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
“All clear, we’re good to go!” Ruby exclaimed. We waste no time.  
“Alakazam!” “Delphox!” “Diggersby!” “Tauros!” “Hypno!” “Sudowoodo!” The air is rife with our calls and Pokeballs as one by one our Pokemon come forth.   
“Alakazam, use Psychic!” “Delphox, use Psychic!” “Diggersby, use Seismic Toss!” “Tauros, LIFT!” “Hypno…” “Sudowoodo, Rock Smash!”   
The 6 Pokemon work together to lift pieces of the rubble away. Soon, the path is cleared of rubble, revealing an empty patch of dirt.   
“Ummm, where’s the exit to the tunnels?” Weiss asks.   
“Clemont?” I signal to him, and he nods. “Tunnel sequence 148276, voice override: Clemont Citron. Activate opening sequence.” He says to the ground.   
As soon as the last word escapes his mouth, the ground in front of us opens up to reveal a stairway.   
“Bonnie, you guys are clear! Go, go, go!” I yell.   
A few seconds later, Bonnie’s head pops out. “We’re free!”  
“A tad melodramatic, but yeah, you’re free.” Blake says without much emotion.   
Suddenly, the wind around us picks up tremendously, and we look up to see a cruiser landing in front of us. The front door opens, and out steps a woman dressed in a red cloak.   
“Well, well, well. What do we have here? Some guinea pigs trying to escape?” She says.   
“Who are you?” I ask menacingly. She certainly doesn’t look friendly.   
“Oh dear, such rudeness. I cannot tolerate that. Just like I cannot tolerate failure in any form. Unfortunately, both have occurred, and so I’m afraid I must teach you a lesson.” There is a tinge of anger in her tone, as she parts her cloak to reveal a belt of Pokeballs.  
“Serena, Clemont, Bonnie, get everyone out and evacuate them. We’ll handle her.” I tell them.  
“How charming. But no one’s going anywhere. Flygon, Claydol, Sandstorm!” She throws her Pokeballs, and both Pokemon materialize. Her Flygon turns beating its wings quickly, stirring up sand, while Claydol starts spinning rapidly.  
“Oh no you don’t! Pidgeot, Whirlwind!” Weiss throws her Pokeball, and upon materializing, her Pidgeot starts blowing the other way, stopping the sand from rising.   
“Serena, go!” I yell back. I can see Bonnie and Clemont leading people up the stairwell, and leading them out of Lumiose. We’ve come so far now. We can’t fail.  
“I’m not…” She argues back, before I grab her shoulders.   
“Listen, this is an Admin. They’re much more powerful than you can imagine. You’re a good battler, but you can’t beat one. I’ve encountered these people before, and they pull zero punches.” I tell her, before pulling her in. “I will return. Follow Bonnie and Clemont. I promise I’ll come back to you.”   
“I’m not losing you again.” She whispers quietly.  
“You won’t.” I reply. She looks me in the eyes, then kisses my cheek.   
“For good luck. Make sure you return, or I’ll track your spirit down and kill you again.” She tells me, before racing off to join Bonnie and Clemont.   
I turn to the battlefield. “Let’s get this over with.”   
Both Weiss and Blake had gone to help with the evacuation, leaving me, Ruby and Yang on the field.   
“You’re going down, bitch.” Yang announces.   
“You have no idea who you are dealing with, child.” The woman sneers, before announcing, “When you die, know that you fell at the hands of Mia Wulfried. Flygon, Dragon Pulse!”  
“Charizard, let’s go!” I throw out my Pokeball, summoning one of my greatest friends in the world.   
“Blaziken, come on out!” Ruby yells. “Greninja, you’re up!” Yang calls.  
“So… 3 on 3 it is.” Mia says. “I think it’s only fair for me to have a third member. Come forth, Hydreigon!”   
Her Hydreigon materializes, but it looks…different. Instead of its trademark purple and blue scheme, it’s body is green.   
“Oh shit, that’s a shiny.” Ruby exclaims.   
“Indeed. So, my young duellers, do you still think you can match me?” Mia laughs condescendingly.   
“Yes.” I say without hesitation. “Why not look at our Pokemon more closely?”  
Mia looks with condescending eyes, “Nothing shiny about them. Nothing to suggest…”   
Then she sees it, and her eyes widen.   
“No…”   
“Yes.” I reply. “Ruby, Yang?”   
“Let’s do it.”  
I raise my hand, fingers coming into contact with the wristband on my glove. More specifically, the stone embedded in its centre. Ruby touches her necklace, while Yang touches behind her ear.   
“Beyond evolution! MEGA EVOLVE!” We yell simultaneously.  
Instantly, our Pokemon are engulfed in energy. We hear their transformation, we see them change before our eyes, becoming more powerful with every second.   
When the smoke clears, our Mega Pokemon stand ready for battle.  
“It…it can’t be…”  
“Believe it, bitch!” Ruby yells.  
“Blaziken, Blaze Kick!”  
“Greninja, Hydro Pump!”  
“Charizard, Dragon Pulse!”  
Our Pokemon attack ferociously, Blaziken targeting Claydol, Greninja attacking Flygon and my Mega Charizard X attacking Hydreigon. All of our attacks are direct hits.  
“Shit...this was unexpected. All of you, return!” Mia retrieves her Pokemon, before turning to us.   
“You’ve won this time, but don’t expect me to go easy on you guys next time. I will take revenge.” She glares at us, before returning to her craft. The landing platform retracts, and it begins to take off.   
“That…was easier than expected.” Yang commented.   
“We got lucky. This time, we caught her off guard.” I reply. “Come on, let’s get back to...”  
No sooner are the words out of my mouth does my earpiece come to life. It’s Bonnie.  
“Ash…Ash, are you there?”  
“Bonnie? What’s wrong?” My voice registers her panic, and I begin to worry. Did they make it?  
“Ash…we…”  
“Bonnie, where are you guys?”  
“We’re in the base, we’re safe, but Serena…”  
It’s as though the world has frozen around me, and I ask the next question with trepidation, “What about her, Bonnie? What happened?”  
“She…She…”


End file.
